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California State Parks - Policy Issues
Update to California State Parks 5/19/2009
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=25665
No specific policy statement from CA State Parks, but this article was gleaned from the GBA, courtesy of workerofwood, who maintains this type of stuff.
_The following is an article published in the CA state park newsletter "Bear Facts" in February of this year. It is important to understand how caching is perceived when making contact with rangers. The article does NOT state that caches should not be permitted, but voices concerns that must be addressed if we are to continue placing caches in the parks. Note particularly the reference to "increased litter" caused by cachers!!! I would suggest having a copy of this article with you, and be prepared to offer an alternative view when asking permission to place caches in the parks. Oh, and bring a CITO bag. -_workerofwood
California State Parks, February 2005
BEAR FACTS
Geocaching: What is It?
First there was Orienteering and Letterboxing. Now we have Geocaching. What is it and how does it affect our parks? Geocaching requires physical and mental exercise, provides an opportunity to experience the great outdoors, gives us a chance to build valuable skills and offers lots of fun and excitement. But more importantly, the new sport has the potential to harm our parks and we should be aware of the negative impacts.
Orienteering was developed in Sweden in 1919 as a military training exercise and received a technical boost by the invention of a new more precise compass that was brought to the U.S. in 1946. At that time, Orienteering with a map and compass became an organized competitive sport with participants racing each other to find a series of points on a map (marked on the ground with orange and white flags) and returning to the finish in the shortest time. Many different Orienteering team and relay disciplines have emerged. The race is performed on skis, in canoes, on mountain bikes, at night, on trails by those with disabilities and, along strings for training preschoolers. The "Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance" takes place over long distances by foot during a 24 hour period. Some races feature international competition and foot orienteering has been recognized as an Olympic sport since 1977. For more information, see http://www.us.orienteering.org.
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